You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Many people put their personal information online (address, telephone number, and so on) for purposes such as signing up for social networks or online banking. Is this a positive or negative development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.

MODEL ANSWER>>>

In order to gain convenience to sign up services like social network communication and online banking, many people allow storing their personal information like phone number and address on the internet. Even though it appears to be more advantageous to the user, this trend has some serious drawbacks.

The primary advantage of this storage of information is that it avoids repetitive entering of personal data whenever a person tries to access these services. This saves a considerable proportion of time because today, an individual log into numerous applications and online services. For example, if a person wants to pay for the food which he had at a restaurant or to pay the bill in the supermarket, online storage of personal data makes the procedure faster and convenient.

Another positive aspect of this is that it the data can be recalled by the user anytime even if he forgets it. For example, if a person forgets his password or any other key information, it can be recalled or reset online in a secure manner. Today, when a person has numerous passwords and when he changes these periodically, this storage of data would be very beneficial.

I have to admit that this type of access to the internet is not completely safe. The worst issue is hacking using these stored data. There are professional hackers who break into a person’s or an organization’s secure spaces online and can do fraudulent activities like transferring money to another account. Privacy is the next concern as the data stored online can become public data anytime if online security is lax. This can cause economic as well as emotional problems, which might be often severe.

To conclude, albeit storing personal data and passwords online offers numerous advantages, its drawbacks should not be neglected as it can result in catastrophes.